Many types of vials exist to provide prescription medication to users. The simplest model consists in a container and an independent cap so mounted to the container that it can be removed simply by pulling on the cap.
Child-resistant vials have been known for some times. They come in many flavours. According to one type of child-resistant containers, the interior of the cap is provided with a liner that exerts a pressure onto the container for preventing the vial from being open easily, for example by children. A drawback of this first type of vials is that they require a first mold for the container and a second mold for the cap. Their assembly is also a two-step process including the assembly of the liner in the cap and then the assembly of the cap onto the vial.
Another well-known type of child-resistant vials is the arrow-type vial. This vial includes a container including a groove and a cap provided with a tooth; the cap being removable only when the tooth and groove are aligned. Arrows are provided on both the cap and the container to guide a user in aligning the tooth and groove. This type of vials still requires a two-step molding process.
Among the child-resistant vials, some have been proposed to convert the vial from a child-resistant configuration to a non-child-resistant configuration, for example by designing the neck of the container so that it can receive both arrow-type caps and caps that are not provided with a locking tooth.
Other convertible child-resistant vials are known which are more complicated and include a cap detached from the container and therefore requiring a two-part molding process.